Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-03-25
How Shot Are Made.

"
"The mode of making shot came
about by accident. Some roofers were
repairing a church spire. One OF the
workmen happened to notice that the
solder which fell from his lofty perch
was found in tiny globes upon the
ground beneath the steeple. From
this fact he argued that the roundness
of shape must be caused by the effect
of the long passage through the air,
and the principal of the shot tower was
evolved. Till that time all shot was
nodded. Lead shot, though some.
times made of lead alone, is almost
always formed of an alloy of arsenic
and lead. The arsenic is introduced in
the form of arsenious acid o. the sui
phuret. The object OF the addition OF
Che arsenic is to render the hard, brit
tie qualities of the lead softer or more
ductile, and OF the proper consistence
to take the globular form. Owing to
the rapid decomposition Of the arsenic,
it is treated by itself in the bottom OF
the melting kettle. A cover is placed
over the substance, and it's stem, which
rises up through the kettle, is fastened
down. The lead is then added above
the cover, and when melted the cover
is lifted out of the liquid mass,
which instantly becomes per-
meated with the arsenic be-
meath. The alloy thus produced con-
tains forty-fve pounds of arsenic to the
ton of lead, and is known as temper.
This again is added, in proportion Of j
per cent, to the pure lead, and thus
the shot alloy, containing a very small
percentage of arsenic, is produced.
The temper-pots hold about q ton of
metal each. After the shot have
reached the bottom of the we'll they are
at once lifted out of an elevator and
thrown upon an inclined table over
which they slide, falling finally into a
wire-gauze rotating cylinder. Then
they are rolled and ground together,
and in this way the minute burrs upon
them are removed. From the cylinder
another elevator lifts the shots upon q
screening-table. This consists of q
series of planes arranged at gradually
decreasing heights. Between each two
there is an interval. The shot being
started at the head of the highest plane
will, if perfect, roll from one plane
to another, jumping over the inter-
mediate spaces. If imperfect, how
ever, it tumbles and goes back to
the melting kettle. The good shot,
after passing this ordeal, reach the
separators. 1t should be explained
that there are usually several
tables, each being devoted to a differ
ent size of shot. The little leaden
globes are next elevated to the top
cylinder of a series, arranged on an in
cline. They are conical in form, and
covered with perforated sheet brass.
Each cylinder serves as a sieve for a
particular size of shot. retaining and
allowing all smaller sizes to escape.
The shifting goes on until each cylin-
der has picked out the particular class
of shot to which it is adapted. The
sizes OF shot are standard. The smallest
is known as dust and then comes No.
49, which is .O5 inch in diameter,
1888 shot going to the ounce. The
sizes then increase 10y one-hundredths
of an inch up to twenty-three hun
dredths, of which there are twenty-four
shot to the ounce. The shot being as
sorted, polishing alone remains, to be
done. This is accomplished by placing
the shot, together with plumbago, in a
box, which is rapidly rotated. The
glossy black sm%oothness is thus i'm
parted. The shot are then weighed,
bagged and ready for SALE"